Last night, I received a 'phone call telling me that a childhood pal of mine, Louisa Mark had died. She was four years younger than me and somehow that makes this sorrowful news all the more poignant. I remember when Louis made her first ever hit, she was a mere 15 years of age and I remember feeling so very very happy for her. We watched as she treated herself to a fur coat and high heels and a very large hat and boy, did she strutt her stuff. We were young and secretly we laughed, she was lovely and she thought she was IT but still we understood and we loved and was proud of her. She was tiny in height but increasingly she rounded out and we affectionately nicknamed her 'Dumpling'. We loved what she did and she did it well. Louisa, you were taken from us far too early. You will forever, remain lovingly in our thoughts.Louisa Mark R.I.P.It has been confirmed that pioneering Lovers Rock singer, Louisa Mark passed away in Gambia over the weekend, following complications with a stomach ulcer. Louisa was born in 1960 of Grenadian parents in Shepherd’s Bush, London and first made her mark on the local scene as a teenager performing at talent contests held at Lloydie ‘Coxson’ Blackford’s Four Aces club. Her delicate delivery prompted Coxson to record the 15 year-old, arranging a session at Gooseberry Studios in central London, with up-and-coming local band, Matumbi providing musical accompaniment. The result was the hugely popular version of Robert Parker’s ‘Caught You In A Lie’, the recording that provided the blueprint for the Lovers Rock style that was soon to dominate British Reggae music.‘All My Loving’ came soon after, but an eighteen-month hiatus followed after a contractual dispute with Coxon’s Safari Records and it was not until her move to Trojan early in 1977 that she returned to the studio. ‘Keep It As It is released by the company soon after, was another strong seller, but Mark felt the disc had not received sufficient promotion and soon after decided to move on once more. A number of popular Clement Bushay-produced singles followed, with versions of Michael Jackson’s ‘Even Though You’re Gone’ and the best-selling ‘6 Six Street’ prompting her to be voted best female Reggae vocalist of 1978 by readers of Black Echoes. Further Bushay-produced singles ensued, but in the eighties Mark’s recording career tailed off, the sum total of her catalogue comprised of tragically few recordings.This is how Lousia loved to look . . how she proudly strutted her stuff among us and how we will remember her.Louisa Mark's Best Songs1. Caught You in a Lie 2. Keep It Like It Is 3. 6 Sixth Street 4. Even Though Your Gone 5. Moving Target 6. Baby Simone 7. People In Love 8. Used to Be My Man 9. Dance and Feel Free 10. Funny Guys.xxXXxx
